From experiences, many people have described elections in Nigeria as a no go area; an event attended by mayhem and casualties. But after the Local Government elections which took place on the 22nd of July across Lagos State and conducted by LASIEC, I totally agree with the importance of election monitoring to the public and how it affects the mindset of voters, politicians, the security forces, and its effectiveness in conducting free and fair elections.
As a Reporter, I was privileged to be a part of the game; a tedious assignment, and a new experience to enjoy. Been in the media, I never thought about the fairness of it from the day I was called, you know, the Nigerian kind of election.
On the day of the election we were all gathered for orientation and job assignments at a venue central to the Local Government area of coverage.

It was a rainy Saturday; that kind of day that has non-stop fluctuations between the biting, irritating drizzles and the heavy, drenching and merciless downpour. Coming from different parts of town, many of us got to the venue of orientation and dispatch totally wet…beaten by the rain. How many of us were called? I never took notice. Young and fired on by enthusiasm, we were assigned to report from the many polling units of the Ikosi-Isheri Local Government area.
From the looks on faces, I knew a lot of us who gathered for this job had not undertaken it before, but from the orientation and the unity we all embraced, I  knew that something professional would work out.
For those of you, who out of annoyance, due to the Nigerian way of running elections, have questioned or condemned the usefulness of election monitoring, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that our responsibility as a media body is to inform you about your world. Our presence also instills fairness and orderliness among voters, politicians, party agents and reduces the occurrence of negative activities via election disturbance borne of frustration or the desperation to come out tops at the polls.
Launching out, the rain gave ease for a while; the roads were wrapped in silence: Police officers manned their posts while the mobile teams patrolled diligently, all of these amidst boys playing football at different spots.
At Mile 12, with my colleagues, Emmanuel and Lateef, the streets had children playing football on the roads, the polling units were quiet, and security forces were present.
‘Good morning’, we greeted the Police Officers, about six of them, sitting on a bench at Maidan Junction, Mile 12.
‘Good morning’, they responded excitedly.
Amazing! It was my first time to experience such good behavior from the Nigerian Police.
‘We are Election observers’, we told them.
Of course, our uniforms (sleeveless jackets) said it all. Words in bold and coloured letters were printed on them. One of them was the word PRESS at the back of the uniforms, but in line with good manners we had to introduce ourselves.
‘There is a polling unit here’ said a Police woman when we asked how many polling units were in that location.
‘And there is another one there’ she continued, pointing to a primary school nearby, called Maidan Primary School.
Yes! They seemed to be correct, we thought, checking the number of polls on our list. We had thirty polling units in to monitor. We turned and walked down to the school. Entering through the gate, we met the absence of security officials and moving further in, at the front of a block of classrooms, a polling unit, with security and party agents on ground. They were ready for business, even as they looked curiously at us. Then a party agent, a good looking Yoruba man took us to task.
‘We are observers, here to monitor the election’, we introduced ourselves.
They all gave us a good welcome and we took our seats. Maidan Primary School was the centre for collation for the 30 units, according to our findings. But something was lacking; it was 10am and LASIEC agents were absent. People were anticipating, nagging, and simultaneously asking us diverse questions such as ‘when would the LASIEC officials arrive’ and charging us to do our duty as reporters.
We got to work, with the rain lashing at us mercilessly. As we entered the streets, walking around corners, confirming different locations for the polls, all eyes were fixed on us. The welcome from the people, agents and different street gatherings helped boost our confidence. The people were hospitable and told us everything we needed to know; street signs and addresses, confirming polling units for us, and taking us around to confirm the addresses on our list. It was my first experience of people’s belief in the media. I never believed we could be so honored like that in Mile 12, known for its volatility. We were stars.
By the time the party agents arrived, we were almost done with confirming the polling units. People tongue lashed them, murmuring angrily about the long delay. Now the real job begins, we thought.
In the rain which was beating down harder, LASIEC agents settled in at their different locations. Accreditation and registration began, Police officers were on guard and voting began.
Then at a polling unit, a protest erupted over which side the polling unit should be mounted for voting between two sections of the people in that area.
‘Errrm, guys hide for your dear life and take no pictures’, one of my colleagues (Emmanuel) cautioned. I was the one with the camera.
A little distance away I switched my camera on.
‘We need to move closer, we can’t be killed, bro’, I said.
Was I stupid? What made me say this? I wonder. Maybe it was my spirit, the spirit of journalism. I knew it was my duty to get the actual pictures of the incidence. Then I moved closer, but there was nothing more to capture. The agitation had died down and a resolution was reached to use one polling unit in that area.
Rain was beating down on us hard but we did not stop walking and working. Complaints of limited voters were reported to us by LASIEC officials during interviews while quite a number of voters had issues with the inability to vote due to missing names or uncompleted registration, to which they called our attention. One of them was a man who met us on the way and dragged us to his polling unit. We tried to find out the cause, but LASIEC agents would not say, as they told us it was against the ethics of their training for this exercise. We apologised to the man, assuring him that we had noted this in our report.
‘My mind is calm now’ he said, ‘please help me ask LASIEC why my full names did not show up despite the fact that I did the registration successfully. Next time, I would not want to experience this. I want to vote but I can’t. To be disenfranchised on this issue is a bad thing, but my mind is calm now since I have reported to you guys and you are here’.
That is my point with this write up. I think, and I believe, that the presence of the media means so much to people. It impacts positively on religion, politics, our environment, and in all facets of our lives. Till this very moment, as I write I still wonder at the fact that in the notorious Mile 12, there were no casualties recorded. Everything went smoothly, from the policing down to the voters and the process.
What is responsible for this? Could it be our presence, the media, or just an act of maturity on the part of the people in the area? Or an improvement in handling situations by the security forces？